Day 30- An author that you'll read, whatever they put out.
George R.R. Martin, Edward Rutherfurd, Terry Pratchett, Cecilia Ahern, and Christopher Moore. Bit of a spectrum there, eh?
Why? Well...
Martin is Martin. Rutherfurd is consistently epic, Ahern is the daughter of the old Taoiseach of Ireland and was a popstar princess...she's champion. Pratchett and Moore are quirky, irreverent, and hilarious. Pratchett is suffering from Alzheimer's but he's trying to develop a cure. Haway, Pratchett!
Interestingly, I haven't read any of the extra books JK Rowling published as addendums to the HP World. Really not all that interested in Babbity Rabbity and the Cackling Stump.
I'm so glad I'm done with this challenge.
Showing posts with label 30 Days of Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 30 Days of Books. Show all posts
Thursday, 9 June 2011
Monday, 6 June 2011
Day 29
Day 29- An author you completely avoid/hate/won't read
I got two of them; Stieg Larsson and Nicholas Sparks.
If you've been following the whole 30 Days of Books Challenge then you know all there is to know about Stieg and me.
....this feels redundant...or there's some deja vu going on.
Nicholas Sparks... I know how every single one of his books is going to end. So do you, don't lie to yourself.
Here's how it goes:
...only with more snot, redness, and swelling.
I got two of them; Stieg Larsson and Nicholas Sparks.
If you've been following the whole 30 Days of Books Challenge then you know all there is to know about Stieg and me.
....this feels redundant...or there's some deja vu going on.
Nicholas Sparks... I know how every single one of his books is going to end. So do you, don't lie to yourself.
Here's how it goes:
- Start with two pretty white people
- Include an obstacle that makes love between them seem impossible
- They fall in love anyway
- Throw in a completely-out-of-left-field, exploitative, awful disaster that only serves to jerk tears and turn an otherwise forgettable romance into a tragedy.
- Rinse. Repeat.
Source of my vitriolic list...does it count that it was referring to the movies and not the books per se, but when you think about it, since the books are the movies' source, then it makes sense?
Plus, Nicholas Sparks doesn't think he writes romance novels... because, and I quote, "if you look for me, I'm in the fiction section. Romance has its own section."
Bless him.
So I guess I can't stand Nicholas Sparks because of his self-delusion and also because, when I read his books, I end up looking like this:
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Sunday, 5 June 2011
A Trolldad, A Foul-mouthed 10 year old, and Day 28
Best link of the day: http://waveatthebus.blogspot.com/
Trolldad waves at his son's bus every morning. The son's in high school. So awesomely embarrassing! I think I would've loved it if my friends did too.
Fun Video for Friday because Sunday should never be allowed to not let Friday go unacknowledged.
Found it here. Why are cursing kids so funny?
Day 28- A book you wish you'd never read.
I wish I'd never read books on Friday or Saturday nights whilst I was a young and vibrant girl in college. There were many a night where I stayed in and read a book, instead of going out with friends.
Okay, I really have no idea if that's a true story or if I'm just place-holding. Or if it's because I really don't want to tell you the answer that pops into my head EVERY time I ask myself what is a book I wish I'd never read.
It's not very shocking, truthfully. It's the Bible. I've read enough of it to know what it is about but not enough to have any intelligent discourse about it without sounding pedantic.
I hope that many of the things I believe are profound in nature...and this results in my inability to discuss them without being run roughshod by someone (general, could be anyone) who thinks they know more than me just because they've read the Bible and therefore all things spouted in quote format by said typical person, I cannot logically take as empirical. It could be that what is said is true, but it's the attitude of that said type that I cannot abide.
And so, I'm not going to say more than this: I wish I hadn't read it, but I did and that has made all the difference.
Trolldad waves at his son's bus every morning. The son's in high school. So awesomely embarrassing! I think I would've loved it if my friends did too.
Fun Video for Friday because Sunday should never be allowed to not let Friday go unacknowledged.
Found it here. Why are cursing kids so funny?
Day 28- A book you wish you'd never read.
I wish I'd never read books on Friday or Saturday nights whilst I was a young and vibrant girl in college. There were many a night where I stayed in and read a book, instead of going out with friends.
Okay, I really have no idea if that's a true story or if I'm just place-holding. Or if it's because I really don't want to tell you the answer that pops into my head EVERY time I ask myself what is a book I wish I'd never read.
It's not very shocking, truthfully. It's the Bible. I've read enough of it to know what it is about but not enough to have any intelligent discourse about it without sounding pedantic.
I hope that many of the things I believe are profound in nature...and this results in my inability to discuss them without being run roughshod by someone (general, could be anyone) who thinks they know more than me just because they've read the Bible and therefore all things spouted in quote format by said typical person, I cannot logically take as empirical. It could be that what is said is true, but it's the attitude of that said type that I cannot abide.
And so, I'm not going to say more than this: I wish I hadn't read it, but I did and that has made all the difference.
Saturday, 4 June 2011
Day 27- My winner's pedestal is higher than Aaron Sorkin's
Day 27- A book you would write if you had all the resources
And by resources, we mean the ability to write coherently and for several day stretches at a time.
The Story of Reddit, which would then become a massively popular bestseller, shooting to the top of the NYTimes list within 2 days of its release on Amazon and Barnes&Noble stores. This amazing Great American Novel would then lead to an optioning battle between Paramount, Pathe', and Bad Robot production companies... finally culminating in an excellent seven figure screenplay deal with Joss Whedon and Aaron Sorkin as my seconds.
And by resources, we mean the ability to write coherently and for several day stretches at a time.
The Story of Reddit, which would then become a massively popular bestseller, shooting to the top of the NYTimes list within 2 days of its release on Amazon and Barnes&Noble stores. This amazing Great American Novel would then lead to an optioning battle between Paramount, Pathe', and Bad Robot production companies... finally culminating in an excellent seven figure screenplay deal with Joss Whedon and Aaron Sorkin as my seconds.
Thursday, 2 June 2011
Getting caught up: 30 DoB Challenge Days 23-26
Peter the bartender at the local pub gave me two books last night... Jeffrey Deaver's Hard News and The Vanished Man. He said they were good toilet reads.
Really Peter? Come on. Should I read them or is it too icky? Oh, and get this, he then proceeds to tell me an off-color joke about the Mississippi preacher and was disappointed when I'd already heard it.
I mean, his cadence was even put off! Ruth hadn't heard the joke though and he was able to tell her about the crazy American preacher.
I wouldn't have minded normally. But he didn't tell it well. Karl Malden did it better and since I can't embed, here's the link to the West Wing episode he did it in. Peter was quite disturbed to know that his joke was in a West Wing episode.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX6wOOJy0hk
Why did Karl Malden always play a 'man of the cloth'?
Day 23- Favorite Romance Novel
and all the other Pride and Prejudice sequels, like Mr Darcy's Daughters, Bridget Jones' Diary, and Mr Darcy Takes a Wife just to name a few.
Day 24- A Book you later found out the Author lied about
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/8459110/Three-Cups-of-Tea-author-made-up-parts-of-book.html
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Cups_of_Tea
Day 25- Favorite Autobiographical/Biographical book
Day 26- A Book you wish would be written
Shriner Moltar's memoirs
Really Peter? Come on. Should I read them or is it too icky? Oh, and get this, he then proceeds to tell me an off-color joke about the Mississippi preacher and was disappointed when I'd already heard it.
I mean, his cadence was even put off! Ruth hadn't heard the joke though and he was able to tell her about the crazy American preacher.
I wouldn't have minded normally. But he didn't tell it well. Karl Malden did it better and since I can't embed, here's the link to the West Wing episode he did it in. Peter was quite disturbed to know that his joke was in a West Wing episode.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX6wOOJy0hk
Why did Karl Malden always play a 'man of the cloth'?
Day 23- Favorite Romance Novel
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and all the other Pride and Prejudice sequels, like Mr Darcy's Daughters, Bridget Jones' Diary, and Mr Darcy Takes a Wife just to name a few.
Day 24- A Book you later found out the Author lied about
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/8459110/Three-Cups-of-Tea-author-made-up-parts-of-book.html
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Cups_of_Tea
Day 25- Favorite Autobiographical/Biographical book
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Shriner Moltar's memoirs
Day 22 or From the Elite Eight to the Final Four to the Championship FTW!
I don't think you're going to like how this ends...
Well, it was inevitable. It was inevitable that I would have Harry Potter in the final four and it's almost predictable that A Song of Ice and Fire, Wheel of Time, and Lord of the Rings would end up here.
How is it that three of the four series in this round are a direct result of my relationship with The Man? Almost disgusting.
Lord of the Rings lost because it was the first of its genre. Yeah, both have made up languages that were created by the authors, but as Walt Disney is paraphrased, 'keep moving forward'. Dumbledore had to prevail over Gandalf only because Dumbledore, for all his being a wizard, was mortal and lived and loved as such. I don't even know what Gandalf loved other than the status quo of peace.
A Song of Ice and Fire has been consistently great over the course of the entire series. There were books in the Wheel of Time series where I wanted to (insert the most awful thing you can do to baby seals) and really, I could've done without two whole books of Perrin's whingeing about Faile. Oh, and the traveling circus. I have no idea why that was even part of the plot.
Really pretty frickin hard to choose the final winner. I had to sleep on it a couple nights.
Really, what it boiled down to was a point The Man made (and which I agreed with) when we were happily discussing this bracket line-up. For all of it being fiction, A Song of Ice and Fire is highly lacking in the deus ex machina that you have in the Harry Potter series, or the all the rest of the other series for that matter. It's extremely human in that way.
Plus, there's still more to come. We don't yet know how the story ends...but I sure did like how it began. George R. R. Martin kills off his characters...because he doesn't fall in love with them. You think one character is the protagonist? BAM! Beheaded on the steps of the Sept of Baelor. Then you think, okay...so his son's the person the story's really about. BAM! Murdered by treacherous vassals.
I may do this with movies sometime. Who's with me?
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
Day 22 or The World Series, The Real Round 1
Criteria
#of books in series
#times I've reread
intellectually entertaining
humourously entertaining
recommendable
discussable at water cooler/pub
scroll down if you just want to skip the play-by-play and look at the lovely bloody bracket
ON THE LEFT SIDE!
In the first match-up, Harry Potter versus the Dark Elf Trilogy, Harry Potter delivered a KO! Seven books to three, along with seven movies and the eighth one due out this summer. Plus, each HP book has been reread at least three times compared to the once for each of the Dark Elf books. Sorry Drizzt Do'Urden, but I gotta go with the lumos on this one.
In the third bout, the Dark Tower versus the Hunger Games... there was an epic struggle of minimal proportions. The scope of the Dark Tower series is so much greater than that of the Hunger Games. However, I greatly prefer the Hunger Games...because King writes books that are sans hope. Hunger Games FTW!
Then there's the Chronicles of Narnia's allegories throttling the Baroque Cycle. The Baroque Cycle counters with the intricacy of time manipulating story lines. The Baroque Cycle prevails!
The Saga of Recluce battles Marian Keyes' stories about the Walsh sisters. The Walsh sisters limp away with multiple fractures and two black eyes.
Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy, with it's measly three tomes, triumphantly plants a flag in the apocalyptic and imbecilic Left Behind series. Frodo tosses my Christmas 2000 back into my life.
Sherlock Holmes, that classy lad, tried his best to coin the pithy phrase of the 20th century...AND FAILED! 'Elementary, my dear Watson' WAS NEVER IN THE BOOKS! So, DON'T PANIC and you live and learn. At any rate, you live. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy gives you great tips for when the world ends anyway. So it wins that round.
Alvin Maker, brainchild of Orson Scott Card, is quite the man...er, Maker. The alternative reality historical fiction series is brilliant. Jack Ryan is one of two beloved characters imagined by Tom Clancy. My grandfather likes Tom Clancy. Jack Ryan wins.
Two made up worlds, only one will win! The Discworld series by Terry Pratchett consistently makes me laugh out loud. I lol'd superhardgood pretty much at all of them there books. L. Frank Baum's allegorical The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, first of FOURTEEN titles, was lots of fun to analyze in honors History in high school, but it never made me laugh. Boot to the head to Oz, no ruby slippers for you! Especially since they were SILVER SLIPPERS! UP YOURS HOLLYWOOD! Discworld pwnd you!
ON THE RIGHT!
Next up, A Song of Ice & Fire contending with the Inheritance trilogy...this'd be of the Eragon, Eldest, and Awakening. Oh Christopher Paolini, your utter reliance on archetypes reminiscent of Star Wars is just absolutely no comparison to George R. R. Martin's saga of everything. Yes, you have a movie, but Ice & Fire has a new series out on HBO and it has been so nice watching how closely the adapters are keeping Game of Thrones from being crap. Your movie, even with the lovely Jeremy Irons...nah. I was tired of the second book even before I finished the first one. Sorry...you lose.
Jason Bourne is the new hotness thanks to Matt Damon...but I love historical fiction. I love historical fiction that is in an alternate reality. I love historical fiction that is in an alternate reality with...DRAGONS. Temeraire and Laurence, I heart you hardbig.
Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality are formulaic. So is James Patterson's Alex Cross series. Cross always (SPOILER ALERT) catches the bad guy. Even if he is Morgan Freeman. But Morgan Freeman is not God. Le sigh. This is the worst one so far. Yeah, the Incarnation win because nursery rhymes are not perverted into book titles and Piers Anthony doesn't like to mow his lawn. True story.
The next contenders are children. Well, one behaves like a child, the other has his childhood taken away from him so he can save the world. My nostalgia can not save you, Laura Ingalls Wilder. The enemy's gate is down and Ender wins the round. Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Ender's Shadow, Xenocide... etc etc.... I want to have another snow day and cocoa just to go through them again.
Robert Jordan died without finishing his Wheel of Time series. But that's not a mark against him. Sanderson is doing a fine ass job finishing it up for him. Philip Pullman pretends to be all in your face about your religion, but it (His Dark Materials) still is a good story, but sucky movie. WoT has 13 published books, one more coming out later this year (I think) and several companion books and a prequel. Sheer number of pages cause multiple paper cuts and Pullman has to forfeit the round to nurse his wounds.
Hmmm....Sookie Stackhouse versus Father Tim. Father Tim, definitely. He's a comforting light. And he gets the girl next door just by being frumpy and cute. MY HERO!
Mists of Avalon versus Twilight... Because I don't want to get beat down by my Twihard BIF and because you gotta know that at least one game is always thrown in a tournament (statistics, yo) Twilight wins. Just don't hold your breath for Final Four.
Do you remember Encyclopedia Brown? He was a cool kid. But he has to battle dragons. DRAGONS, I tell you! No contest, even if the dragons won't eat humans. Encyclopedia Brown was cool because he could figure out crimes and stuff from the vaguest clues. He was a 12 year old Sherlock Holmes living in the 1960s-1980s. Heck, even The Onion did a parody newsstory on him. Nevertheless, I heart DRAGONS and I haven't picked up an Encyclopedia Brown book since 1990...so BOO YA.
Stay tuned for tomorrow, where I skip the Elite Eight and bully on the Final Four... I'm having tons of fun with this!
Day 22 or The World Series, Round 1
Day 22- Favorite Series
THE LINEUP:
2. A Song of Ice and Fire
3. Wheel of Time
1. Harry Potter
19. Sookie Stackhouse
17.Hunger Games
18. Temeraire
4. Lord of the Rings
24. Baroque Cycle
5. Discworld
16. Dark Tower
20. Hitchhiker's Guide Series
21. Hunt for Present Danger with Fear of Sum Patriotic Games
15. Bourne Identity/Supremacy.Ultimatum
25. Marian Keyes Irish Sisters
26. Little House on the Prairie
22. Twilight
14. Mitford House
6. Dragonriders of Pern
23. Alex Cross
7. Ender series
12. Alvin Maker
13. Sherlock Holmes
27. Encyclopedia Brown
8. The Saga of Recluce
28. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
9. Chronicles of Narnia
29. Left Behind
30. His Dark Materials
31. Inheritance (Eragon)
11. Avalon
32. The Dark Elf Trilogy
10. Incarnations of Immortality
Criteria
#of books in series
#times I've reread
intellectually entertaining
humourously entertaining
recommendable
discussable at water cooler/pub
#CUE PATRIOTIC MUSIC, FANS STANDING UP....HANDS OVER HEARTS, BOYS OF SUMMER BLAH BLAH BLAH
Okay... here's the opening line-up... leave your predictions for Sweet 16... who knows what you could win.
THE LINEUP:
2. A Song of Ice and Fire
3. Wheel of Time
1. Harry Potter
19. Sookie Stackhouse
17.Hunger Games
18. Temeraire
4. Lord of the Rings
24. Baroque Cycle
5. Discworld
16. Dark Tower
20. Hitchhiker's Guide Series
21. Hunt for Present Danger with Fear of Sum Patriotic Games
15. Bourne Identity/Supremacy.Ultimatum
25. Marian Keyes Irish Sisters
26. Little House on the Prairie
22. Twilight
14. Mitford House
6. Dragonriders of Pern
23. Alex Cross
7. Ender series
12. Alvin Maker
13. Sherlock Holmes
27. Encyclopedia Brown
8. The Saga of Recluce
28. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
9. Chronicles of Narnia
29. Left Behind
30. His Dark Materials
31. Inheritance (Eragon)
11. Avalon
32. The Dark Elf Trilogy
10. Incarnations of Immortality
Criteria
#of books in series
#times I've reread
intellectually entertaining
humourously entertaining
recommendable
discussable at water cooler/pub
#CUE PATRIOTIC MUSIC, FANS STANDING UP....HANDS OVER HEARTS, BOYS OF SUMMER BLAH BLAH BLAH
Okay... here's the opening line-up... leave your predictions for Sweet 16... who knows what you could win.
Sunday, 29 May 2011
Day 21 or More Flaunting of the Rules
Day 21- A guilty pleasure book
After considerable discussion with The Man about this one, all of five minutes, I say periodicals rather than books for this criterion.
Mainly because of the time nature of the criterion. Guilty pleasure is something you want to indulge in with intermittent frequency.
So...then... yeah, I like People Magazine.
There's a castle adjacent to Durham Cathedral because Durham Cathedral was the seat of the Prince Bishops.
Again, I have very few pictures from the interior of the castle, also due to the injunction against cameras and other recording devices inside. However...
After considerable discussion with The Man about this one, all of five minutes, I say periodicals rather than books for this criterion.
Mainly because of the time nature of the criterion. Guilty pleasure is something you want to indulge in with intermittent frequency.
So...then... yeah, I like People Magazine.
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| Remember the picture of the Cathedral's bell tower? Yeah, this is the view from the top. |
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| Still at the top of the bell tower. That's the Castle. Students can live in the Castle you know? |
Again, I have very few pictures from the interior of the castle, also due to the injunction against cameras and other recording devices inside. However...
I was able to sneak off a couple of pictures (four) before the docent wised up to me. She was nice about it though.
Saturday, 28 May 2011
Day 20 or Why I love Barney Stinson
Have you noticed that there's a couple of books out there, dealing with race relations, that have the word 'kill' in the title?
A Time to Kill
To Kill a Mockingbird
Is this on purpose? Is there a greater conspiracy at hand?
Day 20- A book you would recommend to an ignorant/racist/close-minded person
Only 10 more days of this crap to go. I'm ecstatic. Why do I keep doing this? Because it's a CHALLENGE and this is how I feel when there's a challenge before me:
.jpg)
A Time to Kill
To Kill a Mockingbird
Is this on purpose? Is there a greater conspiracy at hand?
Day 20- A book you would recommend to an ignorant/racist/close-minded person
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Only 10 more days of this crap to go. I'm ecstatic. Why do I keep doing this? Because it's a CHALLENGE and this is how I feel when there's a challenge before me:
Friday, 27 May 2011
Day 19 or How I Learned the Socratic Method from a Gorilla
On the way home from Kiddo's school, we stopped in at Durham Cathedral. The boys' choir was practicing... I believe that the official name is Choristers. The boys were wearing long purple robes and were led by what I imagine is a priest.
It was beautiful and I now totally get the whole obsession with building cathedrals. ACOUSTICS. I'd build one if I had the money and 1000 years. Really. Durham Cathedral has been around since 1093. Really. They told me.
And then we saw a guy in a long black robe start pulling on two chords that went all the way up the tower. Yes, yes he was tolling the bells. And the walls of the Cathedral are so dang thick that you can just barely make out the peals; just so you know, you can hear them quite clearly from the inside of my house, four miles away.
We talked to him a bit, found out he's a burgess. He then, very nicely and generously we thought, let Natalie pull on a chord. Yup...Kiddo got to toll the bells of Durham Cathedral on this day in history. Poor thing couldn't hear it.
Wanna know why there ain't no picture of this melodic, harmonic event? Because they don't allow cameras in this dagnabbited cathedral.
So I'll include the ones I snuck from our home-finding trip here last year
But at least now we know for whom the bell tolls without having to ask.
Day 19- A book that changed your mind about a particular subject
It was beautiful and I now totally get the whole obsession with building cathedrals. ACOUSTICS. I'd build one if I had the money and 1000 years. Really. Durham Cathedral has been around since 1093. Really. They told me.
And then we saw a guy in a long black robe start pulling on two chords that went all the way up the tower. Yes, yes he was tolling the bells. And the walls of the Cathedral are so dang thick that you can just barely make out the peals; just so you know, you can hear them quite clearly from the inside of my house, four miles away.
We talked to him a bit, found out he's a burgess. He then, very nicely and generously we thought, let Natalie pull on a chord. Yup...Kiddo got to toll the bells of Durham Cathedral on this day in history. Poor thing couldn't hear it.
Wanna know why there ain't no picture of this melodic, harmonic event? Because they don't allow cameras in this dagnabbited cathedral.
So I'll include the ones I snuck from our home-finding trip here last year
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| See the Gothic arches with the roundels in the upper middle? That's where the Choristers were singing today. This picture was taken 4/21/10. Aren't the columns gorgeous? MOORISH INFLUENCE IN CATHOLIC CENTRE! DEETS AT 10! |
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| The bell tower as seen from the cloisters' walkway |
But at least now we know for whom the bell tolls without having to ask.
Day 19- A book that changed your mind about a particular subject
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I was assigned this as a textbook in one of my required upper level major courses... I'm so effin glad I enrolled in that class. I think it influenced how I interacted with students... it, at the very least, induced a minor bias that was included thematically in most, if not all of my lessons.
It also, even though it is fiction, helped me realize that much of the systems created by humanity are unsustainable. It's economics and anthropology combined in an approachable medium.
It's another book I like to give as a gift...but with this one, if the givee doesn't agree with the precepts posited by the author...then that's fine with me. I just want to have a discussion about the hypothesis that human supremacy is a myth and that modern civilization (starting around 10,000 years ago) enacts that myth.
There's also others in this "series", if you like. My Ishmael and The Story of B. My Ishmael takes place at the same time as Ishmael, but the student in the book is a 12 year old girl... PERFECT FOR YOUR PRE-TEENS! The Story of B is a prequel to Ishmael.
Have you come across any of them in your book browsings?
Thursday, 26 May 2011
Day 18
Day 18- A book you love but can't find on the shelves anymore
Really, I can't find this one or any of the others in the series on the shelves of the bookstores or library here in sunny Durham.
I don't know if Aunt Sheila ever met Friend Sheila... but I think it'd be mint if Kiddo met my old friend, just once.
Remember this day? I was ever so enamoured of the Pimms No. 1 Cup that I had to make one of my own when I got home. Thank you Royal Wedding!
Combine half or more of Pimm's can with equal or lesser of Sprite or Sparkling Water. Add the freshness of the sliced fruit. DRINK!
Hey don't forget to go vote for me!
Please, vote for me or any of the other great blogs ... because you know, like whatever. I mean, I don't need popularity contest validation... Yes, YES YES I DO!
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If we're talking about books that one once had, then I no longer have my grandfather's elementary primer. I loved reading about Tommy and his 'doggies'. I wish I knew where it ended up.
I wish I knew where a lot of my grandparents' belongings ended up. I have some lovely things that aren't here with me (who wants to move and pay to move a set of antique dressers overseas? not I said the little red hen) but I do have one thing... a picture, taken in 1945, of my grandma with her best friend, Sheila.
I just realized. My aunt, my grandma's first-born, is named after a dear friend. I did that too. Kiddo's named after a girl I knew in elementary and was friends with until college caused our paths to diverge ...completely, but amicably.
I don't know if Aunt Sheila ever met Friend Sheila... but I think it'd be mint if Kiddo met my old friend, just once.
Remember this day? I was ever so enamoured of the Pimms No. 1 Cup that I had to make one of my own when I got home. Thank you Royal Wedding! |
| Pimm's, peeled orange slices, strawberry slices, and mint...not shown: bubbly additive a la Sprite or Sparkling Water |
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| Yes, that's a paper towel as my backdrop. I'm minty class. |
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| Serve over ice and read some English literature. |
Hey don't forget to go vote for me!
Wednesday, 25 May 2011
I want to have a Geordie makeover & Day 17
Geordie Shore was everything I wanted it to be. Dirty and nutty, filthy and slutty. These kids are crazy.
I thought I wouldn't like Vicki, but I just might... if she keeps up the levelheadedstreetness she exhibited in the first episode. And yet, Charlotte-Letitia will most likely stay my fave.
I care nothing for the gym bunnies, ahem...boys. The old guy is cool(ish) though.
After watching Geordie Shore last night, I've decided I need another go at a night out with the lads in Newcastle. We attempted it, sort of, with the Christmas Curry Dinner...but because we hadn't completely shed our Sensible Ladies' persona, it was a bit tame.
I think, that if I were to go full out using fake eyelashes, hair extensions and some spray tan along with a short dress and high heels, then I can get a "native" experience. I'm thinking of calling it "Midsummer's Night Out"... whatchoo think? Missy, you up for it?
Day 17- Book turned movie and completely desecrated.
I mentioned it earlier this week... but Michael Ende's The NeverEnding Story ain't what you see on celluloid, kids.
FOR INSTANCE, raise your hand if you know the Child-like Empress' name? Ah...just a couple of you. Well, the movie ends basically a scene or two after the Empress gets a new name and Bastian goes nuts with Falkor.
But in the book, it's only the middle. The story's just getting started... remember? The NeverEnding Story?
Here's a nice list of the differences: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_NeverEnding_Story_(film)#Differences_from_the_novel because I can't be bothered to elucidate, as I feel it'd be akin to plagiarism
Apparently, there's a new adaptation in the works, thanks to Leonardo diCaprio. He's such a child of the 80s. Probably why. Look for it in 2014!
I thought I wouldn't like Vicki, but I just might... if she keeps up the levelheadedstreetness she exhibited in the first episode. And yet, Charlotte-Letitia will most likely stay my fave.
I care nothing for the gym bunnies, ahem...boys. The old guy is cool(ish) though.
After watching Geordie Shore last night, I've decided I need another go at a night out with the lads in Newcastle. We attempted it, sort of, with the Christmas Curry Dinner...but because we hadn't completely shed our Sensible Ladies' persona, it was a bit tame.
I think, that if I were to go full out using fake eyelashes, hair extensions and some spray tan along with a short dress and high heels, then I can get a "native" experience. I'm thinking of calling it "Midsummer's Night Out"... whatchoo think? Missy, you up for it?
Day 17- Book turned movie and completely desecrated.
I mentioned it earlier this week... but Michael Ende's The NeverEnding Story ain't what you see on celluloid, kids.
FOR INSTANCE, raise your hand if you know the Child-like Empress' name? Ah...just a couple of you. Well, the movie ends basically a scene or two after the Empress gets a new name and Bastian goes nuts with Falkor.
But in the book, it's only the middle. The story's just getting started... remember? The NeverEnding Story?
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Apparently, there's a new adaptation in the works, thanks to Leonardo diCaprio. He's such a child of the 80s. Probably why. Look for it in 2014!
Bon Anniversaire!
It's been one full year since we arrived here. And it is frickin cold. I have no words of wisdom to pass on to future Mollie. And I could slap past Mollie in the face for overtrying to be Sunshine & Lollipops...but will also give her credit for trying. Went out last night and had a pint in remembrance.
Actually... I hadn't remembered until my friend was talking about luggage problems from their move to Oz.
Would you like to know more?
May 27, 2010 http://mollieisokinuk.blogspot.com/2010/05/up-to-speed-part-i.html
Anyway. It's all kittens and fluff, because I wanted people back home to not worry... but some of our luggage was lost...this would be the luggage that had some household items that make life comfortable... like sheets. And the shipped boxes didn't arrive until several days later. And we couldn't figure out the boiler. So we were sleeping in a cold house with towels for blankets...because, you know, we went out and bought some. Because, you know, we were stinky. 22 hours on planes will do that to you.
I think I owe it to myself to write a more realistic version of events.
Day 15- Favorite book dealing with foreign culture
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Mainly, the biggest reason for this choice is because the copy I have now is the one Mom gave me right before we left last year. It was the only book I had when we got here.
Day 16- Favorite book turned movie
Eh, they're all pretty good. 101 Dalmatians is pretty close to the novel. I've really been enjoying Game of Thrones (technically not a movie) because it's staying pretty true to the book. Pride and Prejudice is great also... all three versions are nice. IMDB says that Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is in development. That should be fun... if only they keep the time period to early 19th century and not mid-late 19th century as is evidenced by the illustrations.
But I'll go with Much Ado About Nothing.
Actually... I hadn't remembered until my friend was talking about luggage problems from their move to Oz.
Would you like to know more?
May 27, 2010 http://mollieisokinuk.blogspot.com/2010/05/up-to-speed-part-i.html
Anyway. It's all kittens and fluff, because I wanted people back home to not worry... but some of our luggage was lost...this would be the luggage that had some household items that make life comfortable... like sheets. And the shipped boxes didn't arrive until several days later. And we couldn't figure out the boiler. So we were sleeping in a cold house with towels for blankets...because, you know, we went out and bought some. Because, you know, we were stinky. 22 hours on planes will do that to you.
I think I owe it to myself to write a more realistic version of events.
Day 15- Favorite book dealing with foreign culture
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Mainly, the biggest reason for this choice is because the copy I have now is the one Mom gave me right before we left last year. It was the only book I had when we got here.
(psst!)
(what?)
(you forgot about Sarum!)
(oh yeah... that's a good book too, but not the appropriate choice.)
(bitch, don't front with me. I'm just keeping you honest!)
(better you than someone else, jackass.)
(you wanna fight? c'mere you poser)Really, I had no idea myself is so confrontational with myself. Okay, okay. So I had Sarum, by Edward Rutherfurd but that doesn't really "deal" with foreign culture. So, it was technically the second book I had. And she's very positive in that book so I imagine that that positivity rubbed off since I was in a foreign country too. I just had no idea how foreign.
Day 16- Favorite book turned movie
Eh, they're all pretty good. 101 Dalmatians is pretty close to the novel. I've really been enjoying Game of Thrones (technically not a movie) because it's staying pretty true to the book. Pride and Prejudice is great also... all three versions are nice. IMDB says that Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is in development. That should be fun... if only they keep the time period to early 19th century and not mid-late 19th century as is evidenced by the illustrations.
But I'll go with Much Ado About Nothing.
Monday, 23 May 2011
I banish thee to the depths of my bookshelf, until further notice- Day 14
Day 14- A Book that should be on a highschool/college required reading list.
Banned books, all of them. Like Captain Underpants and the Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary. It's comprehensive, sssshhhh, don't tell.
Here's a list of banned "classics" from the American Library Association. Books that have been read by yours truly are highlighted boldly.
1. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
2. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
3. The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck
4. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
5. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
6. Ulysses, by James Joyce
7. Beloved, by Toni Morrison
8. The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
9. 1984, by George Orwell
11. Lolita, by Vladmir Nabokov
12. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
15. Catch-22, by Joseph Heller
16. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
17. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
18. The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway
19. As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner
20. A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway
23. Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston
24. Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison
25. Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison
26. Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell
27. Native Son, by Richard Wright
28. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey *I've got a great story about this one!!!
29. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
30. For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway
33. The Call of the Wild, by Jack London
36. Go Tell it on the Mountain, by James Baldwin
38. All the King's Men, by Robert Penn Warren
40. The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien
45. The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair
48. Lady Chatterley's Lover, by D.H. Lawrence
49. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess *Saw the movie, but haven't read yet.
50. The Awakening, by Kate Chopin
53. In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote
55. The Satanic Verses, by Salman Rushdie
57. Sophie's Choice, by William Styron
64. Sons and Lovers, by D.H. Lawrence
66. Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
67. A Separate Peace, by John Knowles
73. Naked Lunch, by William S. Burroughs
74. Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh
75. Women in Love, by D.H. Lawrence
80. The Naked and the Dead, by Norman Mailer
84. Tropic of Cancer, by Henry Miller
88. An American Tragedy, by Theodore Dreiser
97. Rabbit, Run, by John Updike
See the missing spots? Those were books that were on this list of "classics" but were not banned. Books like Charlotte's Web and Winnie-ther-Pooh. It's a list of the 20th century's 100 top novels... you can see it here if you like.
Here's a list of books that might surprise you that they are banned: (link) (also are bolded)
Lord of the Rings
Fahrenheit 451
Harry Potter series
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
James and the Giant Peach (LOOOOOVE IT!)
Grimm's Fairy Tales
American Heritage Dictionary *But I have read most of it.
Really, I should read Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses... because that's the book that got the death threat/fatwa/jihad on his ass since 1989...AND HE'S STILL GOING STRONG!
What banned books have you read or want to?
Banned books, all of them. Like Captain Underpants and the Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary. It's comprehensive, sssshhhh, don't tell.
Here's a list of banned "classics" from the American Library Association. Books that have been read by yours truly are highlighted boldly.
1. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
2. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
3. The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck
4. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
5. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
6. Ulysses, by James Joyce
7. Beloved, by Toni Morrison
8. The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
9. 1984, by George Orwell
11. Lolita, by Vladmir Nabokov
12. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
15. Catch-22, by Joseph Heller
16. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
17. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
18. The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway
19. As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner
20. A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway
23. Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston
24. Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison
25. Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison
26. Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell
27. Native Son, by Richard Wright
28. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey *I've got a great story about this one!!!
29. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
30. For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway
33. The Call of the Wild, by Jack London
36. Go Tell it on the Mountain, by James Baldwin
38. All the King's Men, by Robert Penn Warren
40. The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien
45. The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair
48. Lady Chatterley's Lover, by D.H. Lawrence
49. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess *Saw the movie, but haven't read yet.
50. The Awakening, by Kate Chopin
53. In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote
55. The Satanic Verses, by Salman Rushdie
57. Sophie's Choice, by William Styron
64. Sons and Lovers, by D.H. Lawrence
66. Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
67. A Separate Peace, by John Knowles
73. Naked Lunch, by William S. Burroughs
74. Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh
75. Women in Love, by D.H. Lawrence
80. The Naked and the Dead, by Norman Mailer
84. Tropic of Cancer, by Henry Miller
88. An American Tragedy, by Theodore Dreiser
97. Rabbit, Run, by John Updike
See the missing spots? Those were books that were on this list of "classics" but were not banned. Books like Charlotte's Web and Winnie-ther-Pooh. It's a list of the 20th century's 100 top novels... you can see it here if you like.
Here's a list of books that might surprise you that they are banned: (link) (also are bolded)
Lord of the Rings
Fahrenheit 451
Harry Potter series
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
James and the Giant Peach (LOOOOOVE IT!)
Grimm's Fairy Tales
American Heritage Dictionary *But I have read most of it.
Really, I should read Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses... because that's the book that got the death threat/fatwa/jihad on his ass since 1989...AND HE'S STILL GOING STRONG!
What banned books have you read or want to?
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