I'm a Bookworm

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My curiosity started when a friend introduced me to the Twilight movie. Automatically, (like half the population) I fell head over heels for vampires when I saw Robert Pattinson (or in Twi terms: Edward Cullen). I found myself biting my lip the whole way through, wishing for the first time in my pretty sane life for the chance to be bitten by my soon-to-be celebrity obsession!

Anywho, it was after watching the first movie that I decided to buy all four books. YES — all four, all at once (it was buy one, get one free..but thats not the point!)

Naturally, I didnt want to miss out on any extras the director may have edited from Stephanie Meyer’s original novels, so like any true Twihard fan, I started at the beginning….

After a month, I had read all four books. YES…Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn! Now let me really break this down for you…In 744hours. 44640 Minutes. 2678400 Seconds, I managed to read (434+563+628+754) 2379 pages, and if we are talking 173,304  words on average per book, plus the third which is basically double the size, so 348.608…that’s 871, 52 words!!! Now, I’m sure Meyer would agree when I say that’s Twi Twi Twi impressive!!! This is merely proof of
A: how good the books actually are, and
B: how deep my obsession for Pattinson truly goes!

Now, with the good always comes the bad and, sadly, there are some aspects of the books which did at times irritate me. The Twi books were originally targeted to the teen population, and I’m not one to shy from the fact that I’m actually 21…and a half! So as you can imagine…I did find myself shouting out..”Yeah Alright!” and “Get it on already! (Edward and Bella).” But hey –  I could just be a biased 21 year old female, so dont pre-judge — just read!!!!!

May Twilight be with you.

In the name of the Handsome Actor, Extraordinary Lover, Vampire-Vegetarian.

AMEN

This book is a wonderful piece about love in 1960s Tokyo as seen through the eyes of young Japanese students.

Toru, his best friend Kizuki and Kizuki’s girlfriend Naoko are all best friends when their worlds are shattered by Kizuki’s unexpected suicide at 17. Toru and Naoko try to go on by comforting one another, and then fall in love. After a time, Naoko cannot deal with everyday life, and decides to part ways with Toru to spend time in a sanitorium.

Toru goes away to university and meets various interesting characters, including the lively Midori, whom he develops feelings for against the backdrop of the failed Tokyo student marches of the 60s. He continues to struggle with his love for Naoko however, and he visits her in the sanitorium.

Back in Tokyo, Toru is more confused than ever, and neglects Midori. Then, he suddenly receives a letter that Naoko has committed suicide. In his grief, he wanders aimlessly for a month and then returns to Tokyo. He realises through speaking with one of Naoko’s friends from the asylum (Reiko) that he loves Midori. He contacts her to tell her so…. and there the action ends.

The quality of the writing is what really attracts me to this book. Something in the way the characters speak and think, their ennui and aimlessness in modern Western society really captures what it’s like to grow up in an affluent country while trying to establish one’s identity. Also, the suicides are tragedies that cannot be logically explained, but perhaps can be understood when one considers the drifting nature of many of these characters.  The student revolution fizzles out, Toru doesn’t know why he’s chosen to study Drama at university (and has no real passion or aptitude for it), no one is either rich or poor, and there is a dearth of fulfillment and real connection to meaningful sources. The backdrop of a time of great change is contrasted by the characters’ lack of conviction — to connect to one another, and even to live.

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This play is by Sartre and follows the Greek myth of Orestes. Orestes is the estranged son of a king and queen from Argos. He spends time in the town and learns that this his mother and stepfather killed his father Agamemnon. Orestes and his sister Electra work together to avenge their father’s death and rid the city of Argos from its guilt, its haunting spirits, and the flies that constantly circle it.

I loved the way the play was written, without neccesarily conciously picking up on the way that Sartre brings forward his philosophies.  Existentialism is a philosophy which believes in self-determination of one’s actions. A human being can depend on an outside source, such as society or deity to outline his morals, or he can decide for himself.

The interesting part of this book comes when Zeus tries to convince Orestes and his sister that their actions were wrong and they should join the rest of the town in perpetual guilt for actions of the past. In this scene, the ideas of existentialism come to the forefront on the points of view of the characters involved.

Zeus corners Orestes and Electra in the cave of Apollo and tells them to admit that the murder of their mother and stepfather was a sin, and that they should suffer and atone for it. Electra eventually agrees with Zeus. This means that she has let him define and moralise her actions. She has given her power of determination to another entity, in this case a God.

Orestes decides to have more of an existentialist philosophy and be for himself. This means that he determines what he thinks of his situation. He does not neccesarily reject the reality of his situation (like separating yourself from nature) but he decides how he will react to it and think of it.

Zeus decides to spare Electra from physical pain, but sends Furies and flies after Orestes as he walks away from the town. Before he leaves, Orestes addresses the townspeople and says that although he should rightly be king of Argos after the death of his mother, he has no wish to. He tells them he will leave Argos to them to govern themselves, and he will take on the burdens of their guilt, their sins, the flies and their dead as he leaves.

As you can see, a lot happens in a small three act play! I hope you check it out.

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[image: reputation-book.com]

I usually blog about fiction, but I came across an interesting website and book yesterday, and I wanted to share it with you all. It’s called Personal Reputation Management: Making the Internet Work for You, and it’s written byLouis Halpern and Roy Murphy.

As a blogger, of course I’m quite interested. The Internet is a wonderful place to learn information. As we surf the web, we think of ourselves as inside and in the comfort and privacy of our own homes, but in reality the internet is like a busy street where anyone can look at your status, away message, pictures and innermost thoughts if you grant them access. You wouldn’t go outside and start shouting your deepest secrets would you!??! Well then, it’s important to think about the information that’s available about you online.

I’ll give you some great examples:

1. LinkedIn is a great website for business networking, but do you want it made public to the world where you work, your alma mater and your career aspirations?
2. Facebook is a lot of fun! How many people do you want to have access to the ‘fun’ side of your personality?
3. Having a blog or online outlet for your interests and hobbies is great; it’s even better when you inject some of your personality into what you do, because that makes people come back and maintain interest in what you write. However, just how much of your personal information do you want to reveal, including specific places you go, your relationships with lovers and friends, and your thoughts about your job? Remeber, this is information that the world can read!

A book like Personal Reputation Management is just the thing I need to make sure I’m using the internet wisely and respecting the power of this tool for communication and learning.

The Reader

I haven’t finished this book, but it’s so good so far, I had to go ahead and write about it because it’s phenomenal. It’s by Chuck Palahniuk, the same guy who wrote Fight Club.

Haunted is about a bunch of writers who believe they are going away to a writer’s retreat to write their masterpiece. They go by Native-Americanesque aliases, named after their shoddiest qualities, like St. Gut Free (because he ripped his intestines out in a freak accident), Miss America (in a demeaning way), and Lady Baglady (a rich woman who goes out as a bum for fun). The book is made of three different kinds of writing all put together. First, there’s the storyline. And in between the chapters of the story, there’s a poem about each character, and following that, there’s a short prose piece that the character writes themselves about their life and experiences.

When you first start the book, the group is getting together and they are all really optimistic.   It’s interesting, because when the story starts out, you believe they are going to have a horrible time of it, because of Mr. Whitter, the guy who brought them all there. He’s locked the theatre doors and he says, ‘You are all here to write for three months, we’ve got enough food, yout must keep your promises and stay here until you’re done.’ None of them has any idea what they want to write about however, and they don’t want to take the trouble figure that out themselves, so…. they decide to make their stay at the theatre their own horror story, and they turn their group leader into the villain of that collective piece.

I think they’re just a bunch of manipulative, talenteless artists with writers’ block! Or at least, thats how it seems to me at the moment, but I’m not even halfway through. I’m going to have to finish it, then I’ll update you further in another post.

–the Reader
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In honour of Where the Wild Things Are and children’s books everywhere, I’ve decided to post about my favourite childhood book, which is called Ender’s Game.

Ender’s Game is set in the future, in a world that has become united under a single government (the Hegemony) and which is quite advanced.  The reason the world is united, however, is because they all have a common enemy– an alien race called the Buggers.  The buggers came to attack the Earth twice in the past and, the world is gearing up for another all-out war.

Of course, to fight this war they need military officers. So, across the world, there’s a giant initiative to screen the smartest children and they’re all taken away to a military boarding school in space. Ender happens to be the best candidate they’ve found… so in order to preen him they literally make his life a living Hell– sacrificing his childhood and happiness for the good of humanity.

The reason this book is so incredible and influential (it’s won Hugo and Nebula Awards and is a favourite of children and adults worldwide) isn’t because of the backstory, however. I love it because it’s a real study in human psychology. What happens when you take the best and brightest of the world, stick them in a tin can in space, and endlessly f%&k with them?! READ THE BOOK and you’ll find out.

Interestingly enough, Ender’s Game is in development to become a film. It’s been a few years coming, and obviously it’s a mission to find child actors who can play the roles. As influential as the book has been, hopefully the film will be just as influential– I’m thinking The Matrix?!

–The Reader

[image: www.coverbrowser.com]

La Possibilité d’une île was written by the French novelist Michel Houellebecq and was first published in France in 2005. It plays on a lot of the themes that make Houellebecq a writer who speaks with a voice that the modern generation can hear and understand: modern alienation & loneliness, scientific advances, comedy, and lots and lots of sex.

The scene flips back and forth between 3 different scenarios. The first is a man living in our own time called Daniel. He is a comedian and really bored and alienated from his life. He can’t enjoy himself which is ironic considering his life’s work is to entertain other people.  He tries sex, love and cults, all with underwhelming results.

The other two scenarios are versions of Daniel in the future, who have been preserved through a breakthrough in technology that allows humans to live forever.  Carbon copies of individuals are made which replace the current bodies when they die. In other words, there are only a finite amount of humans, and they are constantly replicated. However, the eternal cloning process makes each successive copy less and less like the copy before. For example, the new humans lose their feelings, their memories, and they lose contact with another, becoming more and more isolated, almost like a diluted cup of tea that eventually runs clear and is only water.

I don’t think I would recommend this book, although Michel Houellebecq is one of my favorite authors of all time, and one of the few real, authentic voices of postmodern Western society. The reason: the book is extremely successful in portraying the two future worlds — bleak, emotionless, isolated and silent. His efforts were so successful that I got bored and wanted to do something other than read the book.

I would absolutely recommend two of his other novels, however, which are called Platform and Atomised.

- The Reader

Hey all,

I thought I’d write about mash up books this week. You might be familiar with the concept of mashups in music; when the lyrics of one song are mixed with the music from another song, and this is kind of a similar idea.

The idea is to take a book that is in the public domain, and add a twist to it. The most high profile example of a mash up book to date was published in April this year. Its called ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’, and was written by Seth Grahame-Smith.

It is set in the same time period as Jane Austen’s original novel, but in an alternate universe where zombies wander the countryside. As such it loosely follows the plot of the classic novel, albeit with some minor deviations like important messages not getting delivered because the carrier was eaten alive {now that would be a valid reason for a postal strike!).

The book was a surprise hit, reaching 3^rd place on the New York Times Best-seller list, and there is a graphic novel in the works as well as rumours of a blockbuster film. It seems likely to open the floodgates for an invasion of novels in a similar style, and I am quite excited by the possibilities!

I might even try writing one myself for National Novel Writing Month, although all the good ideas might have gone by then – Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters came out last month!

Bookworm

Picking up from last weeks post on sequels not written by the author, I thought I’d talk about a book I’ve seen advertised all over the place this week. It’s a follow up to the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series, originally written by Douglas Adams.

The first few books were adapted from a BBC radio series of the same name, but were arguably much more popular than the series. I first discovered them when I was at school, and I really loved them; reading all 5 in a matter of months. They were clever, engaging, and often hilarious. So understandably I am really excited that another sequel is coming out.

Unfortunately Douglas Adams passed away in 2001, while working on plans for a sixth book, so writing duties have been taken over by Eoin Colfer, the author of the Artemis Fowl series of books. I’ve never actually read those books, and I’m probably a bit old for them now…, but I’ve heard really good things, and I’m sure that the new author will do a good job of continuing Douglas Adams’ legacy.

The book is called ‘And Another Thing…’, and its coming out on the 12^th October; the 30^th anniversary of the first book. I haven’t been able to find any information on my travels about plot or anything like that, but then I wouldn’t want to spoil it for you anyway!

Image Source: 6of3.com

I’m going to try and get a copy soon after it comes out, so check back for a review in a couple of weeks. If you haven’t read any Hitchhikers Guide books, I really recommend you try them out; they are genuinely brilliant. I just hope the new one can live up to my expectations.

Are you a fan? If so, how do you feel about it being taken over by a different author? Let me know what you think of the book if you read it below.

I got an iPod touch for my birthday, and there is a great little app for it called Stanza – it lets you download e-books and read them on the iPod. Now I’m normally against fancy gadgets replacing books, but the great thing about Stanza is that it gives me free and easy access to loads of books in the public domain (books whose copyrights have expired because the author died more than 50 years ago).

So anyway, I’ve been reading some great old classics, trying to work my way through a 100 Greatest Books article I found somewhere. One of the books I’ve recently really enjoyed is Dracula, by Bram Stoker.

Of course I was familiar with the vampire mythology and the general outline of the story from various films and pop culture references, but I found it really interesting to get down to the source material behind the various film adaptations and other twists on the vampire theme. The story is laid out in a collection of diary entries and letters from the various characters, and this lends it an air of authenticity, as if Stoker had simply found a bundle of documents relating to the case.

The reason I’m writing this post is because I’ve recently found out that an official sequel to Dracula has been released, written by the original authors great grand-nephew, Dacre Stoker, in conjunction with a notable ‘Dracula Historian’ (best job ever?).

Of course there have been loads of follow-ups to Dracula, of varying degrees of quality. In my opinion the most ridiculous of these is the 1991 novel Dracula Unbound, which asks the question; ‘What if Dracula had a time machine?’.

The new novel keeps well away from that kind of thing, and is actually based on Bram Stoker’s original notes from the first novel. It is set 25 years after the events of the original, and the protagonist is the son of Jonathon and Mina Harker, two of the main characters in the first novel.

Anyway, it looks to be a really interesting read and I’ll definitely be checking it out.